My job that has paid the rent for the last 40 years or so has been as a performing musician. The trade, above all others, where amateurs constantly clamour to do your job for free. and are convinced they are "just as good".

Let's not get all arty-farty about "Karma". But I've found that if I'm free with advice and help, it brings me MORE work. Show someone how to do it properly, he often realises he CAN'T do it himself (or doesn't want to put in the time and effort to develop the skill). So I get the job.

(I'm also fortunate that, although I'm too old to have had any computer training at school, when they came onto the music-production scene I took like a duck to water. After a little time I realised that what I saw as an unremarkable skill was actually an unusual one, and a very marketable commodity.)

There's one particular parallel between music and ebook design/web design/programming in general. Less is more. Leave out the fiddly bits. State what needs stating clearly - then stop.

OMG, why on earth would I not like that? Thank heavens I stumbled across you!

Listen, I bought a guitar on Saturday. I had my first lesson yesterday. I have my first paying gig on Friday. My client wants me to play certain tunes. Can you teach me the opening riff for "Eruption," Van Halen, I think it was the '84 album? That's not a problem, right?

And, heck, if you think I'm not quite ready for that one, I do have some Clapton alternatives that the client said he'd take instead. Or a Townsend or two. Okey-dokey?

Now, on a serious note:

I don't know how on earth you think these two trades are remotely comparable. Firstly, any person who is stupid enough to hire a musician, or a band/group/whatever who doesn't hear them play first, or at least pick up a track, or a YouTube video, is an idiot. Even Bridezillas listen to the music that a DJ is going to play at their reception. Therefore, the amateurism of the person who bought their guitar on Saturday will be screamingly obvious. There's no reason on earth for you to worry that Bridezilla will confuse YOUR work with the amateur's work. Nor will the bad work that the amateur does reflect badly on YOU. After all, you lot are artists, right? Each one of you is unique, as we all know from the simple task of using our ears.

This is not the case with ebook-makers. I have lost more than one job just because somebody else picked up the phone, or answered an email faster than I. I should post the email I received several weeks ago from a publisher, who has been a repeat client of mine (about a 20 book gig, mind you); she'd emailed my home email address, not my business, at 6:00 a.m. my time. I'd replied, when I found the email, some 5 hours later, but in that five hours, she'd given the gig to someone ELSE, because, in her own words, I "hadn't replied in ten minutes." I wasn't even out of freaking BED ten minute later, much less replying to emails sent to the wrong address.

So, I'm sorry, but somehow, your idea that if you show someone how to play Van Halen's "Eruption" Riff means that they'll see it is too hard, and they'll hire you, has absolutely no correlation to what I do. You're sharing music with, what, fellow musicians? You think I'm sitting around, discussing coding bits with my clients? Most of my clients can't download files from a browser interface. (Go ahead: ask me if I'm making that up). "Sharing knowledge" with my clients won't do anything but piss them off and wreak havoc. "Sharing knowledge" with fellow Pros, or Bros? ("Pros and Bros" terminology courtesy of our resident peacemaker, ElMiko.) Fine, happy to do it. What I'm not happy to do is encouraging what is, to me, the flim-flamming of clients by encouraging people who don't know how to take data from a PP presentation and put it in a WORD file. Sorry, but that's just one reach (bridge?) too far.

And I'll be waiting for that lesson on "Eruption." I figure with about...oh, an hour's work, you can have me strummin' and hummin' just fine. RIGHT?

I am imagining Hitch with Jimi's hair. Whatever happens today, I started with a good laugh.

What makes you guys think I'm a white man? And how do you know my hair doesn't already look like Jimi's?

I'm not a lefty, though. I'll see you one back-turning Eddie and raise you one back-turning Jim Morrison.

On the riffs, though, I'll still argue for Clapton--possibly the greatest, ever--and Townsend. I'm still boggled that at the Sandy Aid concert, he could still windmill that damn arm! Who said that geezers can't rock? (Felt for Roger, though, pushing the remnants of his range like that, but at least he's still kicking...more than we can say for Freddie.)

OMG, why on earth would I not like that?
<snip>
I don't know how on earth you think these two trades are remotely comparable.

And that's why I thought you wouldn't like it! ;-)

But as you then went on to attempt a page-full of comparisons..

As so often, when someone thinks they've beaten a subject into submission, they're actually arguing on the wrong side! Someones asks a question. I answer. Everyone benefits, as far as they;re capable of doing so, no-one loses.

I benefit from clarifing my thinking on the topic well enough to compose a reply. If the questioner is equipped to make use of my advice, fine. If he isn't, no harm done. And, most important of all in the present context, other forum readers overhear and learn - or contribute a better solution.

As so often, when someone thinks they've beaten a subject into submission, they're actually arguing on the wrong side! Someones asks a question. I answer. Everyone benefits, as far as they;re capable of doing so, no-one loses.

I benefit from clarifing my thinking on the topic well enough to compose a reply. If the questioner is equipped to make use of my advice, fine. If he isn't, no harm done. And, most important of all in the present context, other forum readers overhear and learn - or contribute a better solution.

Or I can be a Grinch. No contest really?

Hmmm, yeah....still waiting for any type of real-world example in which you generously impart your hard-earned knowledge to some fledgling musician, and in so doing, enable him to go out and flim-flam his way into a paying gig for which he's not qualified? Thereby enabling the flim-flam? Or where you're sharing that knowledge on some forum, and by so doing, manage to assist in some buyer of music receiving an inferior product? Which in turn, gets discussed around the internet as an example of how crappy ALL musicians are, and how everyone should just learn to play their own music, to save the money of hiring actual, trained musicians, since you all suck? As opposed to some late night BS session, fueled with booze, caffeine, Redbull or some combination thereof, during which you "compose a reply" to some philosophical or theoretical question?

That's all I'm asking for. One actual example of anything, in your line of paying work, that's remotely correlative to the RalphieDee situation. One actual example.

And, really: since you feel so great about sharing all your knowledge, and you have a self-stated gift for the code, then I think you should just go ahead and help Ralphie. Quite honestly, I don't understand why you haven't yet, since you've chided the rest of us for not doing so.

Without any actual "apples-to-apples" comparisons here, there's nothing to discuss.

What makes you guys think I'm a white man? And how do you know my hair doesn't already look like Jimi's?

I'm not a lefty, though. I'll see you one back-turning Eddie and raise you one back-turning Jim Morrison.

On the riffs, though, I'll still argue for Clapton--possibly the greatest, ever--and Townsend. I'm still boggled that at the Sandy Aid concert, he could still windmill that damn arm! Who said that geezers can't rock? (Felt for Roger, though, pushing the remnants of his range like that, but at least he's still kicking...more than we can say for Freddie.)

Hitch

Oh, but I know you are not a white man and somewhat how you look. That is why it is funny.

Clapton is good, but so is Jimmy. Don't forget Mark Knopfler and, to be dutch, Jan Akkerman.

Which, as all analogies are imperfect, you would delight in tearing to pieces!

Now, what was that guy's question again?

Just be NICE :-)

OK, nicely, here it is in its entirety:

Quote:

I had a client send me a powerpoint document that I needed to convert to an epub. So I had to manually copy and paste all 95 pages into word then I converted to html, opened in Sigil took a few pages and assigned a font face with a few styles in Sigil. I need ed to embed font in the epub so I added the font and I was able to manually assign the styles to each paragraph and it looks fine.

Now I need to have the complete book display in the same font

here is the style that is the default
<p class="MsoNormal"><span xml:lang="EN-CA">

Going in to manually change all tags to the new style is not what I had in mind, I'm sure there is a way to do this where I can set the embedded font to display and THEN add any decoration like italics or bold for that font.

Oh, but I know you are not a white man and somewhat how you look. That is why it is funny.

Clapton is good, but so is Jimmy. Don't forget Mark Knopfler and, to be dutch, Jan Akkerman.

Once upon a time, I did have Jimi's hair. Now, that WAS funny. Ah, youth.

Clapton isn't just good. He's a rock god. You younglings have forgotten most of the bands that Clapton drove. However, I agree, Jimi was a phenom, and Knopfler and Akkerman are both excellent. Ain't the Net a wonderful thing? (MOSTLY).

Once upon a time, I did have Jimi's hair. Now, that WAS funny. Ah, youth.

Clapton isn't just good. He's a rock god. You younglings have forgotten most of the bands that Clapton drove. However, I agree, Jimi was a phenom, and Knopfler and Akkerman are both excellent. Ain't the Net a wonderful thing? (MOSTLY).

Hitch

Altough before my time, the bands Clapton were in are legendary. Ah, the sweet sounds of Cream or Derek and the dominos.

I think we've collectively made our points - maybe one of us should now answer the embedded font question which started this thread, (restated in #55) , just to clear up the "how to do it / can it be done " point.

I doubt the OP still lurks here, unless he has a very thick skin, but the answer may be of some use to other amateurs or pros.

I must confess that find the original question hard to understand & don't know the answer myself, but surely those XML declarations should not be in every <p> tag line